


A Little Interlude

by cyberbird



Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: M/M, dumbasses talk about feelings, filling the gap between 159 and 160
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-08
Updated: 2020-02-08
Packaged: 2021-02-27 19:27:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22610989
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cyberbird/pseuds/cyberbird
Summary: Jon and Martin go on a roadtrip to Scotland.  They finally talk.  There may or may not be good cows.
Relationships: Martin Blackwood/Jonathan Sims
Kudos: 66





	A Little Interlude

“I was on my own… I was all on my own.”  
“Not anymore. Come on, let’s go home.”  
“How?”  
“Don’t worry, I know the way.”  
Martin slumped against Jon’s side, exhausted. They shuffled back, Jon holding them both up and steering them towards the exit. When they finally stepped out, Jon drenched in Peter’s blood, the first archive employee to see them almost looked shocked. Considering what their work life had been like for the last few years, that says quite a lot.

Basira, bless her, was dealing with the police. She spared Jon a brief withering look - he wasn’t sure if it was meant to wither him or the unfortunate constable on the phone - before continuing her tirade. Jon was impressed, the undertone of panic in her voice was almost imperceptible. She motioned him and Martin through to the adjoining room.  
A few minutes later, Basira joined them, slumping into an armchair. ‘You’ll have to get out of here.’  
Jon sat up straight with some effort. ‘Where are we going to go?’  
Basira chewed her lip. ‘Daisy used to have a safehouse. She took me there once. It’s - no one would find you there.’  
Jon caught her darkening tone. ‘It’s not a bunker, is it? An abandoned lighthouse out on a rock in the middle of the ocean?’  
‘Some lighthouses are very charming actually.’ This was Martin, who was staring at the wall opposite. Jon was relieved to hear him speak.  
‘Whatever. It’s a house. It’s just in Scotland.’  
‘Scotland. How are we going to get to Scotland?’ Jon asked.  
Basira held up a ring of keys. ‘I swiped these before the cops arrived. They’re Daisy’s. You can take her car.’  
‘Oh that’s actually - wait, you aren’t coming with us?’  
‘Someone’s gotta find Daisy. And keep you from being arrested. You’re not exactly looking so shiny right now, and if we all disappear together we’ll have no control over the story they’ll put out about this place.’  
‘But you’ll be alone here. What if Elias comes back? Or something else?’  
‘I’m not leaving her, Jon.’  
He sighed and rubbed his eyes. Beside him on the couch, Martin unconsciously echoed the sigh.  
Just the two of them, in a house in the middle of Scotland.  
Right.

*

Martin’s head was arched down onto his chest, finally sleeping. Jon was trying to focus on the road, but he kept getting distracted by the Martin. He couldn’t stop looking over, making sure Martin was still there, still okay. It all felt surreal.  
Jon was glad Martin was getting some rest though. He looked terrible. Being in the Lonely had obviously taken everything out of him. The northern countryside flew past, and Jon wondered if Martin had any family around here. He was starting to realise how little he actually knew about Martin and his past. Maybe Peter had been right about that… but that was alright, plenty of time to find out, to catch up on everything he wished he knew. And time enough to even work out what they were doing.

*

By the time Jon realised he was probably too tired to drive any further, they were far from any town or village. He pulled onto the side of the road and turned off the engine. He had been planning to recline his chair as far as it could go and get some sleep, but he wasn’t sure he’d feel safe enough. Being in the car suddenly felt very exposed now that they weren’t moving.  
None of that ended up mattering. The engine sputtering off was enough to wake Martin, who jolted upright.  
He looked around blearily. Catching Jon’s eye, he let out a tiny warm smile that felt like it burned straight through Jon’s stomach. The smile he gave back was shaky and must have looked ridiculous. Martin looked away. The motionless scenery seemed to confuse him, and Jon saw the corners of his eyes tighten slightly as he took in the dripping fields.  
‘Why have we stopped?’  
‘I, um – I just needed to take a break. Driving tired is supposed to be worse than driving drunk. Or something.’  
Martin frowned. ‘Where are we?’  
‘Somewhere in Northumberland. Not in Scotland yet.’  
‘You’ve driven us all the way to Northumberland? You were supposed to wake me, Jon!’  
‘You’d just been taken by the Lonely, of course I’m not going to make you drive.’  
“You were in the Lonely too! And you got us out!” He rubbed his eyes, getting most of the sleep out.  
“Please Martin, you look terrible, you need to sleep.”  
“Well thanks.” He joked, making Jon give a tired smile. “And really, I’m feeling so much better now. You need sleep and I think we’d both feel better if we kept going.”  
Jon gave a skeptical look. “I really think-”  
“No. No thinking. Stop mothering me and move over, it’s my turn to drive.”  
“Bossy” Jon teased, but he did as he was told.  
“And make sure you’re drinking enough water. I wish I’d had time to make a thermos of tea…”  
They started driving again as Jon settled down. He drifted off slowly, occasionally glancing up fondly at Martin, who was still quietly fussing to himself.

*

When they got to the safe house, it was late - so late it was probably early again. Martin seemed to have recovered some strength from sleeping in the car, so this time he was able to half-lead, half-carry Jon through the front door.  
They stood in the dark living room. Jon lowered himself onto the couch and stared blankly ahead for a few seconds before he absolutely broke down. Great, wracking sobs shuddered through him. Martin rushed over, trying not to panic. When he realised there wasn’t a physical threat, he just held Jon, rocking him slightly, letting him sob. Eventually Jon quieted, and Martin started to wonder if he should back off now, stop holding Jon so tightly.

  
It felt like things had changed, Jon seemed much more accepting of affection since… all that. But Martin didn’t want to push his luck. Things had definitely changed, they feel close now, and Martin hoped what he saw in Jon’s eyes in the Lonely was real, was what he thought it was. But everything was so blurry there, and with time the memories were only getting blurrier. He had to remember how he felt, because he couldn’t remember what he saw, or heard.  
If it was all in his head, if it was all wishful thinking…. Martin had an even worse thought: Maybe Jon was pretending, had been offering Martin what he wanted so he would leave the Lonely, but none of it was real.  
God, please don’t let it be that.

  
Jon’s voice dragged him back to reality.  
“Thanks, I’m- I’m just” he trailed off. “Sorry, I’m fine. God, it’s been a long day.  
”It was tough, you know. Peter was saying things about you, and me. And I thought I was going to lose you.” He pulled Martin closer, and into a proper hug. “Is this okay?”  
“Yeah, just… confusing.”  
“You can kiss me if you want to.”  
Martin gave a hollow chuckle. “I think someone has let all the day’s adrenaline go to his head.”  
He hated this, Martin hated all of this, and he wished he could just do it. He’d wanted to for years but he knew he was fragile right now, and couldn’t afford to have his heart broken in twenty minutes when Jon changed his mind, or cleared his head, or whatever was going on to make him behave this way. Jon’s voice cut off this train of thought.  
“I- Martin, I’m sorry, I owe you an explanation. And an apology. I’m not good at talking about this. And if you, ah, don’t feel how you used to, just tell me. But things have changed for me.  
“I took you for granted. And in the beginning I had no idea what I was doing, and I thought you were probably more qualified for the head archivist job than I was, so I thought I had to keep you at arms length. I couldn’t let you work out how out of my depth I was.  
“It was a stupid thing to do. I was rude, and cruel, and you were nothing but kind. Then, well, everything went wrong. We had lost Sasha, and then Tim as well. And you were still so kind and I just felt ashamed. About all of it.  
“And then I finally started to realise there might be other feelings there, and that’s when everything went wrong again. When I came out of the coma, it was all so different, and I was just trying to decode it all, to work out what you were thinking and what you wanted. And, yes, you know the rest. I know it’s well overdue but I’m really, really sorry Martin.”  
Martin closed the small gap between them, finally kissing him. A moment later he broke the kiss, but stayed close to ask, “Are you sure about this?”  
“Yes. Absolutely.” Jon answered with complete sincerity. That was all Martin needed.  
They spent the evening finishing the food they had packed for the trip, and alternating between kissing and talking.  
Much later, Jon stood up and yawned, “I guess we should get some sleep.”  
“Can we- can we sleep in the same room? I’ll take the floor, that’s fine, I know you’re- I know you don’t- well I don’t want to make you uncomfortable, and it’s not like that, I just-” Martin was rambling, unable to stop, “I’m scared Jon. I don’t want to be alone, I don’t want to let you out of my sight.”  
“Oh Martin, don’t be stupid.” Jon sighed and Martin’s face fell. “No, no, not like that! I mean, we can share the bed if you like. I’m not going to make you sleep on the floor. And I know. I want - I don’t want to be alone either. And - yeah. I’d like you to stay. ”

*

The next morning, Jon woke to find the bed empty, disappointed to see no sight of Martin. However, the wafting smell of bacon left no doubt about where he was (unless they were being robbed by a very polite or very hungry burglar).  
Entering the kitchen, Jon looked fondly at Martin, who was leaning over the stove, cooking a full English breakfast. He had clearly been to the shops, and fully stocked the pantry.  
Martin smiled warmly when he noticed Jon, asking “Cup of tea?”

After breakfast, they got dressed for the day, even though they weren’t entirely sure what they were supposed to be doing. Apart from ‘not drawing the attention of cops, hunters or Eldritch monsters’, of course.  
“We might be here for a while, how about a walk?” Jon asked. “Explore the surroundings and get our bearings, you know.”  
“Oh yes! I hope there’s some cows nearby. How much do you know about highland cows? They’re really very interesting. They can run as fast as 40 km/hr. And as far as cows go, they’re quite affectionate…”  
They wandered outside, Martin sharing more trivia about cows, shyly holding Jon’s hand.


End file.
